Happy 100th Birthday: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

It has indeed been 100 years since the publication of Anne of Green Gables. In the tough business of children's literature, staying in print continuously for a century, through a time of massive social change for girls and women, is quite a testimony to the staying power of this work of fiction.

This longevity raises an interesting literary question. Should this novel now be viewed as "historical fiction," even though it was published in 1908, only two years after it was written as a portrait of what was then a "thoroughly modern Millie" of a young girl. Now, however, looking back at her world we realize that Anne Shirley actually was a contemporary of the beloved and also orphaned Samantha Pennington of American Girl fame. Yet, the portrait of a highly verbal and feisty red-haired eleven year old whose spirit and imagination change the lives of her foster parents and touch those of everyone around her still strikes a chord with girls generations (and light years) removed from the book's first readers. Although the social milieu for the girls and women of Avonlea may seem historical, Anne's spirit is instantly recognizable to girls today.

For girls who have devoured the An American Girl series and not yet moved on to Little Women (Unabridged Classics), a visit with that Canadian red head can make for some happy summer reading. The first book is the best known, but Lucy Montgomery was pressed by her fans to write an abundance of sequels, available as The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, ... Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside)